Oka park blockade removed as agreement reached
The Oka park blockade was lifted Wednesday, with strict measures in place to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus to the adjacent Kanesatake community.
Members of the Kanesatake Emergency Response Unit blocked the entry to the park on May 20 after it was discovered that none of the preventative measures discussed earlier that week by park officials and Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Otsi Simon had been put in place.
Blocking entry to the park frustrated Oka Mayor Pascal Quevillon, who said the virus was here to stay and people had to learn to live with that reality.
Reached Wednesday afternoon, the mayor said he heard about the negotiations to reopen the park in media reports and that he immediately contacted the Quebec government.
“They arrived at this agreement without consulting us,” Quevillon said. “I was told it was a done deal and there was no going back.”
Simon said the agreement was reached during a meeting with representatives from the deputy premier’s office, park administration and the local regional health authority.
The officials were presented with documentation about the extent of the Kanasetake community’s underlying health conditions as well as information about the devastating impact past epidemics have had on Indigenous peoples.
Simon said they were receptive, and a list of restrictions was forged. The restrictions are: Limiting the number of visitors
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to 50 per cent of the park’s capacity.
Using only the park entrance
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that is located directly off highway 640.
Closing the bike path that leads
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Restricting access to Kanasetake.
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Thoroughly cleaning bathrooms
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after each use.
Confining visitors to the park for
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the duration of the visit
Allowing only local visitors and
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those who hail from the lower Laurentians to enter the park.
“It will be difficult to monitor where visitors come from, so we asked that they post the restriction prominently on the park website,” Simon said.
“The people in Montreal, Laval and the Montérégie will have to be patient.”
Quevillon said it was discouraging that he wasn’t included in the negotiations and that closing the bike path and the second entrance to the park, which is nearest to Oka village, would have a negative impact on businesses in the village.
“It’s happening chez nous and they didn’t think of us,” the mayor said.